Memory Lane: I saw London and forgot my luggage at Heathrow airport – By AZUH AMATUS

Picture: Azuh Amatus in front of Marriot hotel, Regent Parks, during his visit to London in 2008.

I recently came across a souvenir I bought during my maiden trip to London in 2008 and immediately remembered what happened to me in King Charles’ country during that memorable and nostalgic trip, almost two decades ago.

No doubt, the trip was exhilarating, exciting, historic, and equally filled with so many fun moments, that I still cherish and relish till date.

However, what stands out and still amuses and even amazes me remains the fact that I forgot my luggage at Heathrow airport upon my arrival in London, the capital of England.

Imagine! Isn’t it funny? (Please, do not laugh at me.)

But, before taking you through the whole gamut of the zany Heathrow airport drama and how it happened, kindly permit me to share with you, how the journey of my first trip to London, United Kingdom, began.

As a child growing up, I had always dreamt about visiting London, based on the stories we were constantly told and regaled with about the city and its magnificent beauty.

The urge became huge and overwhelming when I graduated from higher institution and started working as a journalist with bias for entertainment reporting then.

Painfully, I was denied visa the first time I applied to visit London for a well deserved rest and holiday, while working with The Sun Newspaper, as one of its youngest line editors.

Of course, I was livid and vowed never to apply for a visa to UK again, after writing their Lagos embassy, a stinker of a letter.

But my amiable boss, mentor and then Daily Editor at The Sun newspapers, Chief Femi Adesina encouraged me to give it another shot.